Scene 28: The Chosen One

As the tide turns in favor of the humans, it turns against the Gungans. A thin line of battle droids finally manages to wind its way to the fambaa beasts. The fambaa fall under droid blaster fire, and with them fall the Gungan outer shields.

Captain Tarpals still bravely chucks boomers at the advancing droids, and does not understand why Boss Nass now runs the opposite direction, commanding retreat. He understands a moment later, when the first of the Federation bombs begin to fall.

Jar-Jar Binks runs screaming past him, attempting to hide in a retreating wagon of their biggest boomers. As he climbs up the back, the rear hatch falls open and boomers tumble out. He runs back toward the droids, fleeing the rolling boomers.

Perhaps it's because of the adrenaline of battle and the desire to tear victory from the jaws of defeat, but this is not what Captain Tarpals sees. Captain Tarpals sees Seargent Binks, Chosen of The Choosin One, valiantly leap upon the wagon and rip open the hatch, sending a torrent of their most powerful boomers crashing down upon the droid forces. Binks charges where others retreat, with fury (not fear) in his eyes, as the boomers bouncing around him cut a swath through the enemy lines.

Jar-Jar trips and falls, his leg becoming entangled in the remains of a droid arm. A legless droid on the ground wraps its hands around his neck, attempting to strangle him. As Jar-Jar struggles to get them off, Captain Tarpals sees Seargent Binks use half of a dead droid to beat back the other droids. Jar-Jar's leg remains caught in the droid arm, and the blaster in its grip fires every time Jar-Jar flops it against the ground. Captain Tarpals sees these stray shots take down several more droids; he does not see when one of these shots hits Boss Nass in the back.

Seargent Binks tosses aside the droid bones and faces the enemy. They are completely surrounded.

Jar-Jar throws up his hands. "My give up! My give up!"

Tarpals reluctantly follows suit and lays down his spear, for he believes that Jar-Jar's courage is matched only by his wisdom in choosing surrender over death.

Thus is born the tale of the Mighty Binks.

*****

Droids scatter where Anakin lands as he hops his way to the Federation transport ships. Artoo flies well above the fight, unnoticed.

"ANAKIN!"

His heart bursts with joy to hear her voice in his mind.

"Padme! You did it!"

"We have victory in Theed. How fare the Gungans?"

"Gimmie a minute, I'll get back to you on that!"

He blocks her out without realizing he's done so, partially because he doesn't want her to know he's got droid blasters pointed at him on every side, and partially so that he can focus his attention on turning them into another droid scrap heap.

Finally, he sights what he's been looking for: a droid transport retracting empty racks, preparing to fly back to Theed to pick up another round of troops. He whistles to Artoo, takes a leap, and they both slip inside the transport just as the doors close.

"Find a terminal!" he tells his droid, but Artoo has already plugged into the ship of his own accord. The ship rocks, and Artoo beeps.

"No autopilot? Hang on! I'll take care of it!"

He squints in the dim inner light of the ship until he finds the door of the cockpit. Wrenching it open with the Force, he finds a Neimoidian pilot shouting into a communicator.

Artoo blips and bleeps as he hacks his way into the Federation system. Meanwhile, Anakin searches for a trigger, finds it, pushes it, and smiles as the ship shoots lasers into the ground.

"We've got guns!"

He turns the transport ship back to the battle, spotting a line of Federation tanks blasting the retreating Gungans with energy cannons. He fires, and the tanks explode into fireballs.

Artoo bloops.

"No time to brute force the password!" Anakin shouts. "Just guess something obvious! Think like an insecure Viceroy! Use that imagination algorithm I gave you!"

Artoo beeps.

"There you go! Now upload the IDE virus! That should do the trick!"

Anakin flies the trasport up high to view the battlefield. Moments later, the battle simply stops. The tanks cease their fire. The battle droids fall to the ground, deactivated.

"We did it, Artoo!"

The transport plummets as well.

"Uh-oh! Abandon ship!"

Anakin and Artoo jump from the ship right before it hits the ground and explodes in a blaze. Anakin rolls across the ground and lands on his feet.

Gungans cheer and jump for joy, swinging droid limbs around in celebration. They rush to lift Anakin above their heads.

He reaches out with his mind.

"Nass! Boss Nass!"

Anakin wrenches himself from the arms of the fawning Gungans and runs to the side of the fallen leader.

"You did it, Anakin!" says Nass. "You have saved my people and yours..."

"Hang in there, big guy!" Anakin looks to the Gungans. "Someone get a doctor! Where are your medics?" The Gungans look back with incomprehension.

"It's alright, it's alright..." says Nass. "I lived to see the coming of the Choosin One, and I die knowing all the prophecies of my people are true." He takes Anakin's hand.

Anakin doesn't know what to say. He knows the dying words of Boss Nass are going to be in praise of him, and he does not feel worthy of the blessing. But he wishes to show respect and honor in the Gungan's final moments, and so he bites back the urge to humbly protest, and braces himself to accept his place on the high pedestal.

"Child of Darkness!" Boss Nass says with a fatherly smile, "As was foretold, you shall destroy the Jedi and bring balance to the Force! You are the harbinger of death, Anakin Skywalker! You will be the greatest Sith the galaxy has ever known!"

With a croak and a shudder, Boss Nass the Literate breathes his last.

"What?" asks Anakin. "Wait--WHAT!?!?"

He backs away from Nass slowly, refusing to believe what he has just heard.